Caught in the Carousel

Jason Knight

By Alex Green

Jason Knight

"Great simplicity is only won by an intense moment or by years of intelligent effort, or both. It represents one of the most arduous conquests of the human spirit: the triumph of feeling and thought over the natural sins of language."
—T.S. Eliot

The first time I met Jason Knight I looked around his Los Angeles apartment and wondered where all his stuff was. Surrounded by guitars, piles of CDs, books on musical theory, lyrics scribbled in a notebook and a four track loaded with songs, Knight struck me immediately as a man clearly devoted to his craft. So much so, in fact, that the tools of his trade, the means by which he would be able to translate his emotions into music, had upstaged the normal household items of everyday living.

What I mean is, I know he had a refrigerator because he handed me an ice cold drink, but amidst all of the musical equipage, I don't remember seeing it open or close.

Jason Knight

Like a musical monk, Knight seemed to have shed the need for everything but his art and as he woodshedded away, laying down song after song, lyric after lyric and chord after chord, I could see his discipline was nothing short of rigorous. Studying the craft of songwriting by listening almost forensically to a wide variety of musicians and then practicing for hours at a time, uninterrupted by breaks for food or sometimes even human contact, Knight's inner vow to hone and cultivate his skills through a deep and thorough obedience to his art form was deeply inspiring.

And I hadn't even heard the songs yet.

But once I did I realized that Knight's level of artistic immersion, his willingness to study and practice and then wait in the dark for something to come, is the best way for a musician (or, for that matter a chemist, a car salesman, a deep sea diver or an accountant) to truly understand and absorb the nuances, the vagaries and the various gears of their discipline.

Jason Knight

Jason Knight's songs lack all of the impurities of modern music—the pretense, the glitzy production, the lyrical solipsism—and play back with an undiluted, harmonic honesty. Occupying the same space as Nick Drake or Elliott Smith, Knight, in a single song demonstrates a laser-like focus that is as simple as a Zen Koan and as complicated as a conflicted heart. His new E.P. Annabel is a work of quietly stunning beauty and grace that captures the singer/songwriter at the height of his powers. Ranging from the rootsy shuffle of "I Think I'm In Love" to the speaker-leaping pop of "The Things Me And You We Could Do," Knight is one of those musicians who sounds like he can do anything.

With a voice that's both elegant and commanding, Knight pilots each number with an understated and artful strength. "Like No One" is a touching lullaby; "Your Perfect Light" is a smoothly played stunner and the wrenching title track--which is both a meditation on a lost love as well as a subtle, yet keen portrait of depression ("Annabel said/I'm most happy/Asleep in my bed")--is nothing short of devastating.

In fact, it's on this track that Knight's lyrical acuity is at its most poetic. "Annabel danced," he sings, "for the moon/All night long." For the girl who "was lovely, sweet and strange" this illustration has its lyrical forebears in everything from The Beach Boys' "In My Room" to Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," but Knight's portrait resists the reflex of judgment or tragedy and instead gives the listener a flash of silver, a shot of summer, a memory so vivid and lovely, it keeps Annabel fixed in time like the moon itself: up high and forever.

This is Jason Knight. You need to know him.

Jason Knight

FULL NAME: Jason Oglesby Knight

NICKNAME: Pluto (my dad calls me this)

HOMETOWN: Zionsville, IN

WEBSITE: myspace.com/jasonknightmusic

RECORD LABEL: None

DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN ONE SENTENCE: It's hopefully a warm, inviting, slightly groovy (at times) sound that feels optimistic.

PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Being the download of the week on Caught in the Carousel.

STRANGEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Playing in front of no one.

THE SONG YOU WISH YOU'D WRITTEN: "Fake Plastic Trees"—Radiohead

FIVE MUSICIANS YOU ADMIRE: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Curtis Mayfield, Taj Mahal, R.E.M (Do bands count?).

ALBUM YOU CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO: I don't really have a current one. But the last album that I couldn't stop listening to was Mescalito by Ryan Bingham (which I didn't really listen to until long after it was released).

DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A KID: Always outside, usually dirty, full of energy.

THREE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT: Not much keeps me up, really. I sleep pretty hard.

LAST TWO BOOKS YOU'VE READ: Ninety-Two In the Shade, and The Red Badge of Courage.

THINGS WE'D FIND IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR: Surfboard wax, bungee cords, various road maps, and half-empty bottles of sunscreen.

FAVORITE MUPPET WITH A BRIEF EXPLANATION: Whoever the Muppet was who played the saxophone during the theme song at the beginning of the show. He was groovy and had wild hair.

HARDEST PART ABOUT BEING A MUSICIAN: Being broke.

FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV SHOW: I've watched Letterman since I was a kid.

IDEAL BREAKFAST: Oatmeal with fruit, eggs, and waffles.

DRINK OF CHOICE: Bourbon and soda

BEST ALBUM TO PLAY AFTER A BREAK-UP AND YOU'RE HOLDING A BOTTLE OF VODKA AND SOMETHING SHARP: Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? It's comforting.

INDULGENCE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE UP: Being lazy.

WORDS TO LIVE BY: It's not over 'til it's over.

Internet: myspace.com/jasonknightmusic

The Annabel E.P. is out now.